"In a world where gods, demons, and magic have slipped into myth, Sovereign tells the story of masked undertakers facing the undead with swords while civil wars threaten the delicate balance between colliding cultures," said Image.

"But out of the ashes of history rises a new threat and the promise that magic has not yet faded into mere memory."

Roberson added: "So many of the fantasy stories I encountered growing up were set in worlds that were largely modeled on medieval Europe, in one way or another. Lots of white folks in feudal societies, castles and kings, that kind of thing.

"And I love a lot of those, but I thought it would be more interesting for me personally to look to other cultures for inspiration. Sovereign is set in a world in which there are a number of cultures in the mix, and all kinds of ethnicities and types, and the drama comes as much from the cultural interactions as it does from the monsters invading from another dimension."

Maybury has recently been working as one of the artists on Catalyst Comix.